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Home > Archive > alt.certification.a-plus > November 2003 > Serious Computer Problem
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Serious Computer Problem
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| Scott Stuart 2003-11-18, 3:24 pm |
| Here is a problem that I hope one of you can answer.
About 2 months ago, my computer started rebooting at random times, as if
someone had pressed the reset button. There is no specific time frame for
this problem to occur. Sometimes, the computer will boot up and run for a
few minutes, other times it can go for an hour or more. At first, I thought
the problem was a faulty reset button, so I disconnected the reset button
from the motherboard. This did not help. Next, I replaced the power
supply, thinking that it might be going out. This did nothing to help. So
far, I have replaced everything but the CPU chip (AMD Athlon 1.2GHz), the
floppy drive, and the CD-RW drive. I thought it might be a line voltage
problem, but there is another computer on the same line, and it never has
this problem. I have plugged the computer into another power jack, and the
same thing happens. Occasionally, when the computer is off, there is an
audible popping noise that comes from the speakers. This occurs at about
the same rate that the computer reboot problem occurs, except that it
happens when the computer is turned off. I disconnected the speakers from
the system, and the noise stops. The problem remains in the computer when
booted up without the speakers installed. For those of you about to state
the obvious, Yes, I have replaced the power cord as well, and this did
nothing to help. Nice try, though..
Could this problem be due to a failing CPU chip, or am I looking in the
wrong direction?
PLEASE HELP!!!
Scott Stuart
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| Could be that something is grounding out and causing the rebooting and noise
you hear in the speakers. Check that there are no screws floating around
inside, or under the motherboard. Also check that the motherboard is not
shorting by coming into contact with the case anywhere, such as by the rear
ports.
Reseat all your cards and ram. You might also try reseating the CPU.
Try running the system with the sound card removed instead of just
unplugging the speakers.
If these things don't work there are a bunch of other things to check also.
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| On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 19:55:26 GMT, "Scott Stuart"
<stuartquartet@earthlink.net> wrote:
>Here is a problem that I hope one of you can answer.
>
>About 2 months ago, my computer started rebooting at random times, as if
>someone had pressed the reset button. There is no specific time frame for
>this problem to occur. Sometimes, the computer will boot up and run for a
>few minutes, other times it can go for an hour or more. At first, I thought
>the problem was a faulty reset button, so I disconnected the reset button
>from the motherboard. This did not help. Next, I replaced the power
>supply, thinking that it might be going out. This did nothing to help. So
>far, I have replaced everything but the CPU chip (AMD Athlon 1.2GHz), the
>floppy drive, and the CD-RW drive. I thought it might be a line voltage
>problem, but there is another computer on the same line, and it never has
>this problem. I have plugged the computer into another power jack, and the
>same thing happens. Occasionally, when the computer is off, there is an
>audible popping noise that comes from the speakers. This occurs at about
>the same rate that the computer reboot problem occurs, except that it
>happens when the computer is turned off. I disconnected the speakers from
>the system, and the noise stops. The problem remains in the computer when
>booted up without the speakers installed. For those of you about to state
>the obvious, Yes, I have replaced the power cord as well, and this did
>nothing to help. Nice try, though..
>
>Could this problem be due to a failing CPU chip, or am I looking in the
>wrong direction?
>
>PLEASE HELP!!!
>
>Scott Stuart
>
start/control panel/performance and
maintenance/system/advanced/startup and recovery--settings, check if
the automatically restart button is ticked (XP default).
Assuming you are running XP, this tick box will cause your computer to
reboot instead of blue screening.
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> About 2 months ago, my computer started rebooting at random times, as if
> someone had pressed the reset button. There is no specific time frame for
> this problem to occur. Sometimes, the computer will boot up and run for a
> few minutes, other times it can go for an hour or more.
Please run a virus checker. There is a virus that causes random rebooting.
go to www.trendmicro.com and run their "housecall" checker.
Pat in TX
| |
| Barry Watzman 2003-11-18, 9:24 pm |
| Almost ANYTHING in the computer can cause this. It can be a difficult
problem to solve.
You are putting too much emphasis on power and the power supply. That
is not the most common cause. While it is certainly possible, if you
have tried a new power supply (but NOT the same model as the original
one), you have just about totally eliminated the totality of power
problems as a likely cause. Isolation of a computer from power line
problems is almost total with a decent power supply, and not
withstanding what the vendors of surge supressors would have you
believe, it's rare for power line issues to cause a problem with a
computer if the power supply in the computer is "good". I won't go into
exactly why, but in a modern switching power supply there is TREMENDOUS
isolation of the innards of a computer from the AC power mains. I do
believe that every computer should have a UPS because of power FAILURES,
but I NEVER recommend a "surge supressor" .... they just are not
necessary and are a waste of money.
The most likely cause of this is memory problems, but you say that you
have replaced the memory.
The next most likely cause is {brace yourself, you won't like this} the
motherboard.
Yes, a bad CPU can cause this but that is fairly rare. It would be more
common for peripheral card to cause it. Suspect PCI cards first (sound
card, video card, network card, etc.).
A bad disk drive (or any IDE device) can cause this, it's less common,
but it does happen. If you are overclocking and as a consequence have a
non-standard PCI bus or AGP bus clock rate, that is a common cause.
In very rare cases, I have seen a USB device, also a PS/2 keyboard
and/or mouse, cause lockups and reboots. The Asus P4T-E, for some
reason, had a notorious history of not working with keyboards made in
the 1990's (really, most keyboards made at any time before about 2001),
and the symptoms, which included both spontaneous lockups and reboots,
did not in any way point to the keyboard. This was a keyboard
controller issue, and may be present in other motherboards as well.
Software problems can cause this although it's not usually as random as
the problem that you are describing. You could try a fresh install of
the OS on a "test" hard drive.
I wish that I could give you more guidance, but I can't get more
specific. It can, as I mentioned, be a very difficult problem to fix.
Scott Stuart wrote:
> Here is a problem that I hope one of you can answer.
>
> About 2 months ago, my computer started rebooting at random times, as if
> someone had pressed the reset button. There is no specific time frame for
> this problem to occur. Sometimes, the computer will boot up and run for a
> few minutes, other times it can go for an hour or more. At first, I thought
> the problem was a faulty reset button, so I disconnected the reset button
> from the motherboard. This did not help. Next, I replaced the power
> supply, thinking that it might be going out. This did nothing to help. So
> far, I have replaced everything but the CPU chip (AMD Athlon 1.2GHz), the
> floppy drive, and the CD-RW drive. I thought it might be a line voltage
> problem, but there is another computer on the same line, and it never has
> this problem. I have plugged the computer into another power jack, and the
> same thing happens. Occasionally, when the computer is off, there is an
> audible popping noise that comes from the speakers. This occurs at about
> the same rate that the computer reboot problem occurs, except that it
> happens when the computer is turned off. I disconnected the speakers from
> the system, and the noise stops. The problem remains in the computer when
> booted up without the speakers installed. For those of you about to state
> the obvious, Yes, I have replaced the power cord as well, and this did
> nothing to help. Nice try, though..
>
> Could this problem be due to a failing CPU chip, or am I looking in the
> wrong direction?
>
> PLEASE HELP!!!
>
> Scott Stuart
>
>
| |
| hootnholler 2003-11-19, 1:24 am |
| Barry has some great info in this post, but one more thing to add... those
1.2 t birds have a tendency to run a bit toasty. If you check all that and
still issues, check your temps. I usually like to run them about 50 C under
full load, but they should handle upwards of 60 C. Your motherboard will
cause random reboots if the cpu overtemps to the settings... Also, you
didn't mention, if this is an asus a7v133 board, check for a bios update to
the cpu temperature. It was a known problem, and could also be causing your
issue. As Barry so eloquently pointed out, this could be a real brain fry,
but you have enough info to keep ya busy for a while :-)
Hoot
"Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
news:3FBACBB8.9020105@neo.rr.com...
> Almost ANYTHING in the computer can cause this. It can be a difficult
> problem to solve.
>
> You are putting too much emphasis on power and the power supply. That
> is not the most common cause. While it is certainly possible, if you
> have tried a new power supply (but NOT the same model as the original
> one), you have just about totally eliminated the totality of power
> problems as a likely cause. Isolation of a computer from power line
> problems is almost total with a decent power supply, and not
> withstanding what the vendors of surge supressors would have you
> believe, it's rare for power line issues to cause a problem with a
> computer if the power supply in the computer is "good". I won't go into
> exactly why, but in a modern switching power supply there is TREMENDOUS
> isolation of the innards of a computer from the AC power mains. I do
> believe that every computer should have a UPS because of power FAILURES,
> but I NEVER recommend a "surge supressor" .... they just are not
> necessary and are a waste of money.
>
> The most likely cause of this is memory problems, but you say that you
> have replaced the memory.
>
> The next most likely cause is {brace yourself, you won't like this} the
> motherboard.
>
> Yes, a bad CPU can cause this but that is fairly rare. It would be more
> common for peripheral card to cause it. Suspect PCI cards first (sound
> card, video card, network card, etc.).
>
> A bad disk drive (or any IDE device) can cause this, it's less common,
> but it does happen. If you are overclocking and as a consequence have a
> non-standard PCI bus or AGP bus clock rate, that is a common cause.
>
> In very rare cases, I have seen a USB device, also a PS/2 keyboard
> and/or mouse, cause lockups and reboots. The Asus P4T-E, for some
> reason, had a notorious history of not working with keyboards made in
> the 1990's (really, most keyboards made at any time before about 2001),
> and the symptoms, which included both spontaneous lockups and reboots,
> did not in any way point to the keyboard. This was a keyboard
> controller issue, and may be present in other motherboards as well.
>
> Software problems can cause this although it's not usually as random as
> the problem that you are describing. You could try a fresh install of
> the OS on a "test" hard drive.
>
> I wish that I could give you more guidance, but I can't get more
> specific. It can, as I mentioned, be a very difficult problem to fix.
>
>
>
> Scott Stuart wrote:
for[color=blue]
a[color=blue]
thought[color=blue]
button[color=blue]
So[color=blue]
the[color=blue]
has[color=blue]
the[color=blue]
about[color=blue]
from[color=blue]
when[color=blue]
state[color=blue]
>
| |
| Navin R. Johnson 2003-11-19, 3:24 am |
| On Tue, 18 Nov 2003 19:55:26 GMT, "Scott Stuart"
<stuartquartet@earthlink.net> wrote:
The popping sound in your speakers when the system is off may be a clue.
Could it be static electricity that's causing the popping? I've had two
separate customers, who both live in trailers, complain about the same
sort of rebooting problems you're having. They were both also getting
static shocks regularly when they touched anything metal in the room.
Must be something about trailers, all that aluminum, rubber tires, and
probably not grounded very well. Anyway, I told them to use Static Guard
fabric spray twice a week around the computer and especially on their
computer chair and I never heard from either of them again.
One more thing, you say there is another computer on the same line which
has had no problems at all. Did you try plugging that computer into the
same exact outlet as the one that's giving you trouble. You never know,
the neutral wire for that one outlet may not be connected properly. I'm
not an electrician but without a ground you can get all sorts of noise
in the A/C line. I had a customer in that same situation whose modem
would not connect to the internet. After blaming the telephone company,
her phone lines, her ISP, the modem, the software and little green
gremlins I finally plugged the damn thing into a different A/C outlet
and just like magic, the modem connected the first time. When I checked
the bad outlet, lo and behold, there was no neutrel wire at all. That
was a good one. Good luck with yours.
NRJ
>Here is a problem that I hope one of you can answer.
>
>About 2 months ago, my computer started rebooting at random times, as if
>someone had pressed the reset button. There is no specific time frame for
>this problem to occur. Sometimes, the computer will boot up and run for a
>few minutes, other times it can go for an hour or more. At first, I thought
>the problem was a faulty reset button, so I disconnected the reset button
>from the motherboard. This did not help. Next, I replaced the power
>supply, thinking that it might be going out. This did nothing to help. So
>far, I have replaced everything but the CPU chip (AMD Athlon 1.2GHz), the
>floppy drive, and the CD-RW drive. I thought it might be a line voltage
>problem, but there is another computer on the same line, and it never has
>this problem. I have plugged the computer into another power jack, and the
>same thing happens. Occasionally, when the computer is off, there is an
>audible popping noise that comes from the speakers. This occurs at about
>the same rate that the computer reboot problem occurs, except that it
>happens when the computer is turned off. I disconnected the speakers from
>the system, and the noise stops. The problem remains in the computer when
>booted up without the speakers installed. For those of you about to state
>the obvious, Yes, I have replaced the power cord as well, and this did
>nothing to help. Nice try, though..
>
>Could this problem be due to a failing CPU chip, or am I looking in the
>wrong direction?
>
>PLEASE HELP!!!
>
>Scott Stuart
>
| |
| Chris E 2003-11-24, 8:24 am |
| This is the first thing I thought about when I read the original post. A
heat issue. I've run into 2 systems with intermittent rebooting caused by
an overheated CPU. I would definately check the fan speeds and temps. I
was surprised it took this long for someone to bring it up.
Chris
A+, Net+
"hootnholler" <nospam@goaway.com> wrote in message
news:IiDub.61535$M02.8060@twister.rdc-kc.rr.com...
> Barry has some great info in this post, but one more thing to add... those
> 1.2 t birds have a tendency to run a bit toasty. If you check all that
and
> still issues, check your temps. I usually like to run them about 50 C
under
> full load, but they should handle upwards of 60 C. Your motherboard will
> cause random reboots if the cpu overtemps to the settings... Also, you
> didn't mention, if this is an asus a7v133 board, check for a bios update
to
> the cpu temperature. It was a known problem, and could also be causing
your
> issue. As Barry so eloquently pointed out, this could be a real brain
fry,
> but you have enough info to keep ya busy for a while :-)
>
> Hoot
>
> "Barry Watzman" <WatzmanNOSPAM@neo.rr.com> wrote in message
> news:3FBACBB8.9020105@neo.rr.com...
if[color=blue]
> for
for[color=blue]
> a
> thought
> button
help.[color=blue]
> So
> the
voltage[color=blue]
> has
and[color=blue]
> the
an[color=blue]
> about
> from
> when
> state
the[color=blue]
>
>
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